Ethan's POV
The silence in my chamber felt heavier than chains.
The sky outside my window still bled red—like the heavens were mocking me. Every heartbeat, every breath felt borrowed, unearned.
I thought ending the curse would set me free. That maybe, after all the blood and loss, peace would come.
But it didn't.
Freedom had never felt so much like a chain.
Every breath felt heavier than the last. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her face — Soraya's eyes wide with pain as the dagger pierced her chest.
I killed her.
And that truth sat in my chest like poison long before I ever touched the real thing.
I sat at the edge of my bed, staring at the vial in my hand — small, clear, and cruel. Wolfsbane's Embrace. A single drop could end even an Alpha. It was said to burn through the blood like wildfire, silencing the beast forever.
Maybe that was what I wanted. Silence.
To never hear the screams again.
To never wake to the memory of her dying breath.
